By Joe Manganiello
SYRACUSE, NY – In two very different games, the Junior Chiefs swept a double-header against the Geneva Redwings on Monday, keeping themselves 4.5 games ahead of the second-place Utica Brewers.
The Junior Chiefs (23-8) won game one of the double-header handily, needing just six innings to pull ahead 17-4, winning by a final score of 17-9. All-Star Frank Salerno led the way from the plate, going three-for-four with three RBI and two runs scored.
Fellow All-Star Tim Locastro went 1 for 2 from the plate with two walks and a sacrifice bunt, while driving in three RBIs and scoring two runs. Dave Wolak went three-for-five with three RBI and a run scored, and Zach Lauricella went three-for-six while driving in two RBI.
The Junior Chiefs put together 16 hits and 16 RBI in game one, while also taking advantage of Geneva’s 13 walks and four errors in the field. In total, seven players scored multiple runs in support of Junior Chief ace Alex Basso.
Basso (5-0, 2.36 ERA) earned his division-leading fifth win of the season, throwing six complete innings and striking out six batters. Despite allowing nine hits, Basso only walked two batters and got out of multiple bases loaded jams by pitching to contact and forcing several crucial ground ball outs.
The Red Wings (10-20) refused to lay down late in the blowout, as they scored six runs in the final four innings, finishing with nine runs and 16 hits for the game. Leadoff hitter Leon Stimpson continued to hit Junior Chief pitching well, going two-for-six in game one with two runs scored. Stimpson’s batting average against the Junior Chiefs this summer is .385 with six runs scored over five games.
In game two, both sides struggled to put the ball in play early, as the team’s played scoreless baseball through the first four innings with just four hits combined. In the top of the fifth, the Redwings finally broke through when Grant Heyman hit a two-run home run, giving Geneva their first lead in either ball game. The Red Wings would add another run in the sixth, when Cameron Stimpson was hit by a pitch, stole second and third base, and then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Through the first seven innings, Redwing’s starting pitcher Chris Murphy shutout the Junior Chiefs offense while holding them to just three hits, arguably the most impressive start an opposing pitcher has had against the NYCBL’s best offense. Murphy, whose pitch count was climbing as the game pressed on, ran out of gas in the eighth inning.
The Junior Chiefs led off the bottom of the eighth with a pair of singles from their number eight and nine hitters, Riley Moonan and Zach Blanden. Salerno hit an RBI single, scoring Moonan. Locastro sacrificed Blanden and Salerno into scoring position, which led to a two-RBI double by Alex Sanchez, tying the game, 3-3.
Murphy would finish with eight complete innings (116 pitches, 81 strikes), three-earned runs and seven strikeouts against just one walk, handing a tied ball game to the bullpen in the ninth inning. When the Red Wings failed to re-claim the lead against relievers Dean Bonneau and J.D. Tyler, it opened the door for the league’s top hitters to salvage the game in the waining moments.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Brian Witkowski pinch-hit and doubled, Moonan walked, and Blanden hit a controversial fielder’s choice where, according to the field umpire, all runner’s advanced safely. With the bases loaded, Salerno drove a fastball well over the head of right fielder Cameron Stimpson, ending the game with a walk-off, RBI single.
Salerno is batting .430 on the season, the third-highest in the league. He is one of just six players in the NYCBL with at least 32 runs scored and 38 hits. Both Locastro (32 runs, 38 hits) and the league’s leading batter, All-Star Alex Sanchez (.451, 39 runs and 55 hits), are also in that company.
The losses move Geneva further down in the standings, as the Red Wings have lost eight of their last ten games and are in last place in the East Division.
The pair of wins moves the season series between the two teams in favor of the Junior Chiefs, who have now won four of six games against the Red Wings. The home team has won every game between the two teams. The series concludes with a pair of games in Geneva on July 20 and 23.
The Junior Chiefs open a four-game road trip tonight at Donovan Stadium against the second-place Utica Brewers, the last scheduled game between the two teams. The Junior Chiefs are 6-1 against the Brewers.
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